‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ (1990) Was Almost Never Made

In 1988, comic book movies were considered box-office poison.

The first, terrific adaptation of Batman, from Tim Burton, had yet to come out, and no one wanted any part of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it was rejected by every major studio in Hollywood, and survived massive costumes that weighed 70 pounds, –and then to make matters worse, –the major studio that was going to produce the film, pulled out at the last minute. But the happy ending? The highest grossing independent film of all time, based on an underground comic book.

The budget for the film was $13.5 million, –that’s a pretty hefty chunk of change, –and it went on to be a huge box office success, gross $135 million after it dropped. And that’s without the benefit of Marvel or DC supporting it. The original comics came out in 1984, from Mirage Studios, –which been purchased by Viacom, as of 1990, –it sucks, actually. Now the original studio that produced the comic is sort of homeless, the future is unknown and who knows if we’ll ever see them again. What sucks most? The other comics that Mirage produced were full of beautiful art, great stories, and unfortunately, short. So… we’ll see. Read the full story on the source.